Lily White

Thankfully, there are early signs of consolidationNOWHERE IS CORPORATE do-goodery more on show than in a firm’s sustainability report. Today 58% of companies in America’s S&P 500 index publish one, up from 37% in 2011, according to Datamaran, a software provider. Among the photos of blooming flowers and smiling children, firms sneak in environmental, social…

The place that launched a thousand quipsWHEN BARTLEBY reflects on life’s lessons, he always remembers his grandfather’s last words: “A truck!” Bartleby’s uncle also suffered an early demise, falling into a vat of polish at the furniture factory. It was a terrible end but a lovely finish.Whether you find such stories amusing will depend on…

The merger between two frackers is a rare example of consolidation in a fragmented industryTO CALL 2020 tough for shalemen is to call a monsoon a mist. Covid-19 has halved the value of fracking firms this year. Rig counts are down (see chart). A perfect time for consolidation, then. Yet besides Chevron’s $5bn bid for…

Investors are betting on the American jeweller’s corporate nuptialsTHE MOST ardent romances result in the most acrimonious divorces. In the case of Tiffany and LVMH, rancour preceded the nuptials. In the amorous phase the French luxury giant behind Louis Vuitton had described the American purveyor of engagement rings as a corporate jewel, agreeing to a…

A judge in California hears the opening arguments in what promises to be a drawn-out—and consequential—disputeFITTINGLY, THE legal deathmatch is happening online. On September 28th a court in California heard arguments, via video call, in a case that pits Apple against Epic Games, the maker of “Fortnite”, a hit video game. At issue is whether…

TO UNDERSTAND WHY it was a shock last month when Berkshire Hathaway invested $6.5bn in five Japanese trading houses that have been around for far longer even than its 90-year-old chairman, go back to a talk Warren Buffett gave to business students in Florida in 1998. As a sprightly sexagenarian with his sleeves rolled up,…

Cyberpunk 2077 is basically a launch title.The open-world RPG is a compelling case for next-gen consoles.Will gamers consider it in the upcoming launch lineup?Cyberpunk 2077, the hotly-anticipated game from The Witcher 3 devs CD Projekt Red, is launching one week after the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. This essentially makes it a launch title…

“THE APPRENTICE makes me $3m a day. Ker-ching. That’s the music it makes. It sure beats bricks and mortar, hey?” So a British businessman, imitating Donald Trump’s distinctive drawl, recalls a conversation the two men had by telephone years before Mr Trump became president. It was a high point of their relationship that the Brit…

IN THE PANICKY initial days of India’s covid-19 lockdown, the country could count on one venerable institution. Tata, a 152-year-old conglomerate, bought millions of dollars’ worth of medical supplies for clinics and hospitals. Its shut businesses did not lay off a single worker. A new subsidiary was conjured up to develop a one-hour coronavirus test…

latest Live Blog By talkSPORT 5th October 2020, 8:52 pm Updated: 5th October 2020, 8:52 pm It’s deadline day and Manchester United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is under pressure to deliver big signings. United were humiliated 6-1 by Tottenham on Sunday and have struggled to get deals over the line this summer. Only one player…